The Morning’s Top 5 Cultural Stories

1. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs grossed $13.8 million in North American theaters on Wednesday, beating out Shrek 2‘s record for biggest mid-week opening for an animated film. [via Reuters]
2. JellyNYC’s free Pool Parties have moved to a new venue in Williamsburg and the schedule — which includes Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, and Deerhunter — is epic. [via Pitchfork]
3. Artists find a new use for vacant commerical space in the UK: pop-up contemporary galleries. [via BBC]
4. A new gameshow in Turkey seeks to convert atheists with pilgrimage as a grand prize — Mecca for Muslims, Jerusalem for Christians and Jews, and Tibet for Buddhists. [via Guardian]
5. Are box office expectations and franchises suffucating the great up and coming American filmmakers ? [via The Independent]

Note: Because we’re already celebrating the Fourth of July here at HQ, we won’t be publishing again until Monday. If you’re looking for something to do in your city over the holiday weekend, check out our newly-relaunched Flavorpill website and leave us a comment. Enjoy!